Grandpa
by cmol8806
Summary: Max babysits...  yeah, bad summary
1. Chapter 1

.**Okay this follows my oneshot Thunderstorm, but you really dont need to know that to follow this. It wont be long, just a few chapters.**

**I dont own the show or characters or anything like that**

Booth steps out of the bedroom, his hair still wet from his shower. He pads along the hallway barefoot until he reaches the living room. He stops in the entryway and puts his hand in his pockets, smiling at the sight that greets him.

Brennan is sitting on the couch with her laptop; her bare legs curled up underneath her as she types, her brand new engagement ring shining on her finger. He knows that she is working on her book by her scrunched face and glazed eyes. Her fingers fly over the keyboard, too absorbed to notice his presence or the cuteness sitting next to her.

Chrissy sits next to her mother, her own pink Barbie computer on the cushion in front of her. Both Booth and Brennan dislike that pink toy but it was a gift from Russ and neither wanted to hurt his feelings by getting rid of it. Also, Chrissy fell in love with the second she learned what it was and it turned out to be a blessing. No longer does the child try to press the keys on Brennan's lap top when she works, instead she asks one of her parents for "Chrissy's puter" and settles into her own world.

The girl looks up at her, her face easing out of the scrunched look she inherited from her mother and smiles at the sight of Booth.

"Daddy!" she squeals, climbing off the couch to run to her father.

Brennan looks up and gives him an absent smile, her mind still thinking about her story. He gives one of her feet an affectionate squeeze as Chrissy leads him to the front of the couch.

"Sit, Daddy," Chrissy says, pulling on his hand.

"You're just like your mother," he says under his breath as he complies.

" I heard that," Brennan says, still typing.

"I never said it was bad thing, Bones," he says, turning to send her a charm smile. Even though she doesn't look away from her computer, her lips twitch and she shakes her head.

"Daddy," Chrissy brings the attention back on to her, handing Booth a Three Little Pigs book. She turns around and sits, trusting her father to settle her comfortably in his lap, which he happily does.

"Okay, The Three Little Pigs," he says, settling so that he can cradle his daughter and hold the book at the same time.

About half way through the story, Brennan stops her typing and stares at them. She loves her daughter and loves to play with her. But no matter how much she has grown, she can't bring herself to be as carefree and goofy as Booth is reading a simple story. She smiles at Booth's deep voice taking on a high squeak to imitate talking pigs. Christine loves the story, but Brennan is slightly concerned that Chrissy seems to be more sympathetic towards the Big Bad Wolf than the pigs, but Booth has assured her that it's nothing to worry about.

"Big Bad Wolf," Chrissy imitates her father's deep voice. Booth chuckles and is about to continue when someone knocks on the door and his cell phone rings at the same time.

"Let's see who is at the door," Brennan says, picking up her daughter, while Booth rises and answers his cell.

"Hi, baby," Max smiles when the door opens.

"Hi Dad," Brennan greets stepping back to let the older man enter. In her arms, Chrissy tries to climb out.

"Ranpa!" she says, smiling at Max.

"Hey, cuteness!" he gives his biggest smile as he takes her from Brennan's arms and kisses her cheek. "She gets more beautiful every time I see her."

"That's not technically possible. She is the same as she was yesterday, so-" Brennan says until Max leans in and gives her a kiss on her cheek.

"She looks just like you did," he says fondly, earning a smile from his daughter. He looks down at Chrissy who is smiling at him as she plays with the buttons on his shirt. "Except for that smile. That is all Booth."

"Hey, Max," Booth says, walking over to shake his hand.

"Do we have a case?" Brennan asks.

"Yeah, uh," he glances at his daughter who is staring at him before turning back to Brennan. "I'll tell you the details on the car. So do you want me call Ange while you grab your stuff or-"

"Michael is sick," she tells him, shaking her head. "Angela is busy taking care of him while Hodgins is at work and I don't want Chrissy to get sick. And Parker has to be picked up from school"

"Rebecca," Booth suggests, not noticing Max making funny faces at Chrissy to make her laugh. "Maybe she can-"

"Booth, she and Drew left to New York for the week, remember?"

"Right, right," Booth sighs, looking down to think.

Max looks between the couple feeling slightly insulted. Chrissy squirms in his arms so he sets her down, keeping one eye on her as she goes to play with her computer again.

"What about Cam?" Brennan suggests but cuts off Booth before he can fully respond. "No, we might need her if there is flesh on the body."

"Guys?" Max speaks up, smiling slightly with raised eyebrows. "I can watch them."

"Oh Dad, are you sure?" Brennan asks, looking at him with some doubt.

"Hey, I'm around kids all the time," he defends himself.

"That's not what she meant, Max," Booth jumps in after glancing to make sure where his daughter was. Brennan looks at him with furrowed brows and he sends her a pointed look.

"Oh, no that's not…" she catches on, turning back to her father. "We don't want to ruin your day, you probably had plans."

"No, no plans," Max says almost jovially. "It's not a big deal. Besides, I would love to spend a day with my grandkids."

"Alright, thanks Max," Booth says, submitting to the sincerity in the man's eyes when he said 'grandkids', including Parker. "You have all the numbers."

"Yeah, yeah, it'll be fine," Max waves off as the two start gathering their things.

"Parker has to be picked up at three," Brennan tells him. "The address is in the book by the phone. Chrissy likes-"

"Green beans, blueberries and bananas," he finishes.

"Hey, princess," Booth kneels down in front of Chrissy. "Mommy and Daddy have to go to work. Grandpa is going stay and play with you, ok?"

"Pranpa!" she says happily, nodding her head.

"I love you," Brennan says, kissing her daughter and hugging her. Booth does the same after her.

"Bye Mommy, bye Daddy," Chrissy waves to them as they walk to the door.

"Bye, Max. We should be home by five, six tops," Booth says as they open the door.

"Take your time," Max assures him. "We'll be fine."

"Thanks," Booth turns but Max grabs his arm.

"Take care of my daughter," Max says in a low voice. Booth nods even while looking down at where Max is holding his arm. When he is released, he sends one more wave to Chrissy before leaving.

Max locks the door and turns to smile at his granddaughter.

"Just you and me, kiddo," he says, rubbing his hands.

Chrissy looks at him giggles. Max has faced prison, criminals, corrupt lawmen and killers. But for some reason he feels slightly uneasy at the familiar mischievous blue eyes and wide charm smile.

**reviews please?**


	2. Chapter 2

"Ol mc-don-ol had-a-far," Chrissy sings as she holds out her finger for more lotion. "Come on Ranpa."

"E-I-E-I-O," Max joins in, squeezing some lotion onto her finger. "And on his farm he had some-"

"Loton," Chrissy sings, putting the lotion from her finger onto her grandfather's arm. "With rub rub here, rub rub here, here rub, here rub, erywhere rub rub Ol mc-don-ol had-a-far. E-I-e-I-o."

Max chuckles softly; too tired from running after her all morning to do much else. As she enters into another round of the child's song, he looks around the room. There are toys spread all over the floor, the rejects from the great Jasper search. There are two small towers of books near the edge of the couch, some read and some outright declined with a "No, Ranpa."

He squeezes more lotion onto her finger, and looks into the kitchen with a shudder. The counters are full of different foods that he had tried to coax her to eat. He still doesn't understand her reluctance for lunch, having fed her food he knows she likes. Finally he had handed her a slice of left over pizza which she happily ate. He looks longingly at the blanket on the floor that was discarded after his failed attempt to get her to sleep. He has spent time with his granddaughter before and had never seen her be so difficult. He looks back down at her and cant help but smile at her sparkling eyes.

"He had a…had a…Chrissy!" she sings with a bright smile. "With a ha-ha here, ha-ha here, here ha, here ha, erywhere ha ha! That funny Ranpa."

"Yes it is, princess," Max chuckles. The phone to his left rings and he answers it. "Hello."

"Hey Max," comes Booth's voice.

"Is Christine napping?" Brennan says quickly after.

"Chrissy is fine. Are you guys on your way home?" He asks casually.

"What's wrong Max?" the smirk clear in Booth's voice. "The thirty-something years since taking care of a baby catching up with you?"

"Daddy!" Chrissy yells, crawling into Max's lap to grab the phone. "Hi Daddy!"

"Hi princess," Booth's says, smiling widely as he drives.

"Booth, she should be napping," Brennan says with a frown.

"Hi Mommy!" Chrissy says with more excitement at the sound of her mother's voice. "I miss you."

"I-I miss you too," Brennan says, her eyes filling with tears. Booth looks over and squeezes her hand.

"I love you," their daughter says and Brennan turns to the window as the tears start to fall.

"Mommy and Daddy love you too, Chrissy. Can you give the phone to Grandpa?" Booth says as he parks the SUV.

"Okay." She sets the phone down on Max as she climbs down from the couch. "Here, Ranpa, here."

Max puts the phone to his ear and tilts his head at his daughter's words. "It's just hormones, Booth."

"Hormones?" he breaks in, his eyebrows raised. "Is there something you guys want to tell me?"

There's a pause where he knows they are talking to each other without words.

"Not at the moment," Brennan says. "Dad, why isn't Chrissy asleep?"

"I tried," Max sighs. He watches the girl make an unintelligible conversation between Jasper the pig and a stuffed Count from Sesame Street.

"What are you talking about?" Brennan says confused. "It is very easy to get her to nap. I never have a problem."

"That's because she's your clone," Booth breaks in. " It's like you two speak a different language. She's always easier when you're around. But when you're not, she's more…"

"Willful?" Max suggests.

"Yes! Willful, she's willful," Max hears Booth's hand slap on the steering wheel.

"_I _am very glad she is willful," Brennan says firmly. "And maybe if you didn't speak to her as though she had no intelligence, she-"

"Look Max, we have to go interview a suspect," Booth interrupts, earning a glare from his pregnant partner. "We called to-"

"Check on our daughter who apparently hasn't slept," Brennan says, irritated.

"And to remind you that Parker needs to be picked up at-"

"Three." Max finishes. "I'm senile not yet, Booth."

"Right. Later Max." Booth hangs up the phone.

"Put milk in there," Chrissy says to him, holding up a sippy cup full of water.

"Ok, come on," Max laughs, still fascinated by the similarities between his daughter and granddaughter.

Max leads the way into the kitchen and stops, looking around with a weary sigh. Chrissy stops with him and leans into his leg.

"Yuck!" she says empathetically, shaking her head. "Messy."

"Yep, very messy kitchen," Max agrees. "Grandpa has to clean this up before we get your brother."

"Parker!" Chrissy says excitedly. "I want Parker, Ranpa! Parker!"

"Okay, princess, here's the deal," Max leans down with a hopeful smile. "I'm going to put you in your chair with some milk, and Grandpa is going to clean the messy kitchen. _Then_ we'll go get Parker. Okay?"

"O-kay," she nods, holding her arms up to be carried.

Max blinks in surprise that she understood but quickly picks her up. He places her in her highchair, which is, funnily enough, spotlessly clean. He fills her sippy cup with milk and places some graham cracker bears in front of her before devoting himself to the task of cleaning up.

"Mmm milk is good. Bye bear," Chrissy says before she eats one of the snacks. Max just chuckles.

**my muse kind of fizzled on me with this one. i know i will do one more chapter though. i might, at some point, come back and fill in missing parts, but not sure when. but please tell me what you think?**


	3. Chapter 3

"Mommy wont mind if Grandpa uses her car, right sweetface?" Max asks Chrissy as he jingles the spare car keys that he had found in one of the kitchen drawers.

"All done Ranpa," Chrissy stretches her arms out towards Max, hopping in her highchair. "Out! I want out!"

"Okay," Max chuckles as he picks her up, wiping her mouth with bib in the process. "Are you ready to get your brother from school?"

"Yes!" she says brightly. She runs around the living room collecting shoes, then runs back to him and holds them out, her mini charm smiles in full effect. "Here Ranpa. Put on Chrissy."

The second he takes them from her, she plops down on her bottom and holds one foot in the air. With a grunt Max kneels down and places her shoes on, tickling her on the stomach when he finishes.

"Okay," Max grunts standing up again. "Let's go get Parker."

"Bye Jasper, bye Count," Chrissy waves to her 'friends' when Max picks her up to carry her to the car. "Bye blanket, bye Mommy's puter, bye Daddy's TV."

* * *

><p>Children of various ages' flow out of the doors of the school like a flood; some running and laughing while others stroll casually. Three preteen boys walk out, talking animatedly together until a group of girls walk by. One of them, a tall brunette, says something with a wave towards one of the boys. He smiles back with a nod, his hands in his pockets, causing the other girls to gather around their friend and ask giggled questions.<p>

Inside the car, Max watches the interaction and chuckles, thinking about the 'discussion' that Booth and Tempe would have if they had seen Parker just then. He looks back at Chrissy and sighs tiredly; the baby had fallen asleep almost as soon as Max had started the car. He sees Parker glancing around, probably looking for his dad's SUV, so he opens the door and stands up to wave to the boy whose face lights up with a bright smile when he sees him.

"Max!" Parker says excitedly, jogging to the car. "Mom and Dad have a case?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah I'll be watching you guys for a few hours," Max says, a surprised and yet pleased look on his face at hearing the boy refer to Tempe as 'Mom'.

Parker climbs into the backseat and leans over pull down the sun screen on Chrissy's window. He sits back and starts to buckle himself in, speaking Max at the same time. "Tiney loves car rides. Dad says it's the only sure way to get her to sleep without Mom."

"Oh really? Wonder why he didn't share that little tidbit," Max says quietly, slightly annoyed. He pulls away from the school and glances back with a small smile. "So, who's the girl?"

"What girl?" Parker asks with a smile that suggests he knows exactly what Max is talking about. Max chuckles and looks at him in the rear view mirror so he ducks his head. "That's Mia, we're partners for our science project."

"Oh," Max nods, smiling to himself. "Is she nice?"

"Oh yeah, she's really cool. She doesn't act like all the other girls you know? And she's _really _smart."

"She's pretty," Max says slyly.

"We're just friends," Parker blushes.

_Like father like son_, Max thinks to himself, changing the subject as they continue their drive.

Arriving back at the house, Max sets down a still sleeping Chrissy on the couch, Parker placing her pig Jasper by her head before covering her with a blanket. Despite Parker's best efforts at charm, Max insisted that he finish his homework before retreating into his room to play video games. An hour later, however, they are still sitting together on the floor watching the National Geographic channel together, Max occasionally adding his own input.

"Hi," says a soft voice from behind them. They turn around and smile at Chrissy as she wakes up.

"Hi Tiney," Parker says, wiping the hair out of her face.

"Hi Parker. Hi," she smiles at him, crawling down to sit in his lap, still holding onto Jasper.

"Heehee," she giggles at what she saw on the TV. "Again, again!"

Parker picks up the remote and rewinds the TV so that it again shows a hawk swooping down to grab a lizard.

"Again!" she laughs, standing up and hopping in place. "Go hawk go!"

Max laughs, thinking about how earlier she asked him to stack some blocks, only to knock them down and laugh. "She's a wolf without sheep."

"Sheep?" she asks him but then her face lights up and she smiles. "Animal tracks! Come play animal tracks."

"Animal tracks?" Max asks as she grabs both his and Parker's hands.

"Uh yeah, she likes to play this all the time," Parker says, slightly embarrassed. "We, well uh, she crawls looking at fake animal tracks until she finds one of her stuffed animals."

"Oh, well that sounds like fun," Max says enthusiastically, not wanting either child to feel bad.

"Don't be scared, Ranpa," Chrissy whispers with wide eyes, making her grandfather and brother smile. "Come on, guys."

* * *

><p>"It just doesn't make any sense," Brennan says as Booth parks the car outside their home.<p>

"The guy's nuts, Bones," Booth sighs, reaching into the back seat to grab their stack of paper work for their reports. "I'm just glad it was an open and shut case so that we can come home and spend time with our kids."

"Have you talked to Parker about our engagement?" Brennan asks as they climb out of the car.

"Bones, he was there, remember?" Booth jokes. He grabs her arm to stop her when he sees how worried her face is. "Hey, Bones what's wrong?"

"What if he doesn't want me to be his step mother?" she voices the concern she had kept to herself all day.

"Parker loves you," he assures her, locking eyes with her. "I promise everything is fine."

"I still think that you should talk to him," she insists. "Especially since we will also be having another baby."

"Okay, I'll talk to him. But I'm telling you, Bones, I don't think there's anything to worry about," he leans forward and kisses her, one hand going to her still flat stomach.

"We should get inside," she says in a low voice, staying close to his face even after breaking the kiss. "Dad probably wants to go home."

"Right," Booth nods, stepping back.

They step through the door and stop, staring at the sight before them with wide smiles. Chrissy is looking under the coffee table with a flashlight, Parker and Max on all fours next to her. Max has a wire hanger, bent to look like a magnifying glass and Parker is holding onto a stuffed duck, apparently making it talk to Chrissy. All three look up at the partners and smile.

"What are you doing?" Booth chuckles, closing the door.

"Playing animal tracks," all three answer.

"Look Daddy," Chrissy grabs the duck and runs to her father who scoops her up. "We found my duck. Quack quack quack."

"Hey Mom, can I bring a friend to the lab next week?" Parker asks a shocked Brennan as he stands. "We want to ask Hodgins some questions for our science project."

"I…um," Brennan falters, tears springing to her eyes. "Yes, that-that should be fine."

"What's wrong?" Parker steps forward concerned written all over his face.

"Nothing, bub, just a long day," Booth steps in, setting Chrissy down. "Why don't you and Chrissy clean up."

"Bye Ranpa," Chrissy hugs Max, assuming that now that her parents are home her grandfather will be leaving.

"Bye, princess," Max hugs her back. He gives Parker a one armed hug around the shoulders. "See you soon, kiddo."

"Later," Parker smiles before walking away.

"I told you Bones," Booth says softly, rubbing a hand down her arm.

She smiles as she rubs the tears from her eyes and Max reaches out having seen the stone on her finger.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" he asks with a smile.

"If you're assuming it's an engagement ring, then yes," she smiles widely, touch of pride in her voice.

"Congratulations, baby girl," Max kisses her on the cheek, shaking a grinning Booth's hand. "Have you set a date yet?"

"No, but I think it should be within the next few months," Brennan answers, talking more to Booth than her father.

"Any particular reason for that?" Max asks, looking at the pair suspiciously.

"Several," Brennan says with a mysterious smile. Before he can comment she steps forward and gives him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for watching the kids, Dad. I'm going to check on them."

"You really helped us out today, thanks Max," Booth offers his hand as Brennan walks away.

"No problem. They're great kids," Max smiles, gathering his coat as Booth leads him to the door. "Chrissy is…"

"Just like her mother," Booth smirks.

"Yeah, she is," Max chuckles. He steps out the door but turns around at the last second. "I think you might want to know that Tempe and I aren't the only people attracting Parker to science anymore."

"What does that mean?" Booth asks confused. Max just waves and walks away.

The End

**Now, the Ranpa thing is what my niece calls my dad, even though she says other words perfectly; I think it's cute. The hawk thing is also something she did, had us cracking up and her dad (my brother) said that about her. I hope you guys liked this, I myself planned on something better when I started but, like I said, the muse fizzled on me. Until next time….**


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